1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to treatment of effluents, and particularly to a treatment system for polluted water, sewage, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Of tremendous interest today is the treatment of sewage, polluted and brackish water, and the like, to make such unpotable liquids potable. Typical examples of treatment systems proposed for this purpose are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,549,528, issued Dec. 22, 1970 to E. T. Armstrong, and 3,664,951, issued May 23, 1972 to L. B. Armstrong. These known systems generally ozonize the effluent for purifying same. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,296,122, issued Jan. 3, 1967 to I. J. Karassik et al., uses a pasteurizing stage followed by a sterilizing stage to obtain fresh unpolluted water from sewage effluent.
Electrical stimulation is a known manner of treating sewage. The use of alternating electricity activates microorganisms in the effluent and facilitates the decomposition reaction in the effluent. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,220, issued Aug. 15, 1967 to G. Neidl, for a discussion of the use of such electrical stimulation to enhance biodegradation of sewage and other biologically decomposible organic matter. Further, it has been proposed to enhance ozonization by subjecting an effluent to sonic energy, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,562,545, issued July 31, 1951 to R. M. Gogolick et al., while U.S. Pat. No. 3,458,140, issued July 29, 1969 to G. W. Schryver, discloses the use of radiation to sterilize an agitated effluent.
Other prior U.S. Pat Nos. considered pertinent to the present invention are as follows:
______________________________________ 3,186,939 P. J. Murray June 1, 1965 3,227,642 J. H. Lemelson Jan. 4, 1966 3,591,009 O. Luthi July 6, 1971 3,766,059 J. Sasaki Oct. 16, 1973 ______________________________________